November 1, 2009 9:35 PM

You've been through a lot!

That's what some friends said the other day when we crossed paths at the supermarket. The remark stood out for me because I have never seemed to put it all in that context. Why? Because I have been so fortunate not to suffer any of those side effects that seem to get to almost all leukemia patients. Therefore, I have never viewed myself as going through a lot. I guess that if you really look at it, a lot of things have happened to me over the past year. But they have all worked out so well that it almost feels like I've been doing nothing but recovering the whole time.

A year ago tonight, we went over to a friend's house for a special dinner that was cooked by some members of our church. There were 8 of us there(all church members) for the dinner along with the cooking and serving team. One of the attendees commented to my wife the other day that she was impressed by our showing up for the evening. We had been looking forward to the evening for several months and there was no way that we were not going to attend if at all possible. It was a small blessing that we got because I did not have to go to the hospital on Friday which was also a possibility. But I was feeling fine at the time. The only thing that I wanted to do was to be myself and not burden everyone else with my problems even though they all knew about my diagnosis. Hopefully, I achieved that goal.

As for this year, we spent the day at my sister-in-law's house and had a great time.

Indeed, a lot has happened in the past year. All of it good...

Bob